THE PUBLIC EXAMINATIONS (PREVENTION OF UNFAIR MEANS) ACT, 2024 
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ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS 
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CHAPTER I 

PRELIMINARY 

SECTIONS 

1.  Short title and commencement. 
2.  Definitions. 

CHAPTER II 

UNFAIR MEANS AND OFFENCES 

3.  Unfair means. 
4.  Conspiracy for unfair means. 
5.  Disruption to conduct public examination. 
6.  Other offences. 
7.  No premises other than examination centre shall be used for public examination. 
8.  Offences in respect of service providers and other persons. 

CHAPTER III 

PUNISHMENT FOR OFFENCES 

9.  Cognizable offences. 
10.  Punishment for offences under this Act. 
11.  Organised crimes. 

CHAPTER IV 

INQUIRY AND INVESTIGATION 

12.  Officers empowered to investigate. 

CHAPTER V 

MISCELLANEOUS 

13.  Members, officers and employees of public examination authority to be public servants. 
14.  Protection of action taken in good faith by any public servant. 
15.  Provisions of this Act to be in addition to other laws. 
16.  Power to make rules. 
17.  Laying of rules. 
18.   Power to remove difficulties. 

CHAPTER VI 
AMENDMENT TO THE CRIMINAL LAW (AMENDMENT) ORDINANCE, 1944 

19.  Amendment of Ordinance 38 of 1944. 

THE SCHEDULE 

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THE PUBLIC EXAMINATIONS (PREVENTION OF UNFAIR MEANS) ACT, 2024 

ACT NO. 1 OF 2024 

[12th February, 2024.] 

An  Act  to  prevent  unfair  means  in  the  public  examinations  and  to  provide  for  matters 

connected therewith or incidental thereto. 

BE it enacted by Parliament in the Seventy-fifth Year of the Republic of India as follows:—  

CHAPTER I 

PRELIMINARY 

1.  Short  title  and  commencement.—(1)  This  Act  may  be  called  the  Public  Examinations 

(Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024. 

(2) It shall come into force on such date1

 as the Central Government may, by notification in the 

Official Gazette, appoint. 

2. Definitions.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,–– 

(a)  “candidate”  means  a  person  who  has  been  granted  permission  by  the  public  examination 
authority to appear in public examination and includes a person authorised to act as a scribe on his 
behalf in the public examination; 

(b)  “communication  device”  shall  have  the  same  meaning  assigned  to  it  in  clause  (ha)  of           

sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (21 of 2000); 

(c) “competent authority” shall mean the Ministry or a Department of the Central Government 

administratively concerned with the public examination authority; 

(d)  “computer  network”,  “computer  resource”  and  “computer  system”  shall  have  the 
meanings respectively assigned to  them in clauses (j), (k) and (l) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of 
the Information Technology Act, 2000 (21 of 2000); 

(e) “conduct of public examination” shall include all the procedures, processes and activities, 

as may be prescribed, for being adopted for the conduct of public examination; 

(f) “institution” means any agency, organisation, body, association of persons, business entity, 
company, partnership or single proprietorship firm, by whatever name it may be called, which is 
other than the public examination authority and the service provider engaged by such authority.  

Explanation.—For the purposes of this clause, it is clarified that “company” includes a company 
as defined in clause (20) of section 2 of the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2003); or a limited liability 
partnership  firm  as  defined  in  clause  (n)  of  sub-section  (1)  of  section  2  of  the  Limited  Liability 
Partnership Act, 2008 (7 of 2009);  

(g)“notification”  means  a  notification  published  in  the  Official  Gazette  and  the  expression 

“notify” shall be construed accordingly; 

(h)  “organised  crime”  means  an  unlawful  activity  committed  by  a  person  or  a  group  of 
persons  indulging  in  unfair  means  in  collusion  and  conspiracy  to  pursue  or  promote  a  shared 
interest for wrongful gain in respect of a public examination; 

(i) “person associated with a service provider” means a person who performs services for or 
on behalf of such service provider irrespective of whether such person is an employee or an agent 
or a subsidiary of such service provider, as the case may be; 

(j) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act; 

1. 21st June, 2024,  vide notification  NO.  S.O.  2422(E),  dated  21st  June,  2024,  see  Gazette  of  India,  Extraordinary,  Part  II,  

sec. 3(ii). 

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(k)  “public  examination”  means  any  examination  conducted  by  the  public  examination 
authority, as specified in the Schedule, or conducted by such other authority as may be notified by 
the Central Government; 

(l) “public examination authority” means an authority as specified by the Central Government 

by a notification, from time to time for conducting the public examinations; 

(m)  “public  examination  centre”  means  such  premises,  which  is  selected  by  the  service 
provider  or  otherwise  selected  by  the  public  examination  authority,  to  be  used  for  conduct  of 
public  examination  and  which,  amongst  others,  may  include  any  school,  computer  centre, 
institution, any building or part thereof and the same shall include the entire periphery and land 
appurtenant thereto which may be used for security and other related reasons for conduct of the 
public examinations; and 

(n)“service provider” means any agency, organisation, body, association of persons, business 
entity,  company,  partnership  or  single  proprietorship  firm,  including  its  associates,  sub-
contractors and provider of support of any computer resource or any material, by whatever name 
it  may  be  called,  which  is  engaged  by  the  public  examination  authority  for  conduct  of  public 
examination. 

(2)  Words and expressions used herein but not  defined and defined under any other law for the 

time being in force, shall have the same meanings as assigned to them in those laws.  

CHAPTER II 

UNFAIR MEANS AND OFFENCES 

3. Unfair means.—The unfair means relating to the conduct of a public examination shall include 
any act or omission done or caused to be done by any person or group of persons or institutions, and 
include but not be restricted to, any of the following acts for monetary or wrongful gain— 

(i) leakage of question paper or answer key or part thereof; 

(ii) participating in collusion with others to effect leakage of question paper or answer key; 

(iii)  accessing  or  taking  possession  of  question  paper  or  an  Optical  Mark  Recognition 

response sheet without authority; 

(iv) providing solution to one or more questions by any unauthorised person during a public 

examination; 

(v)  directly  or  indirectly  assisting  the  candidate  in  any  manner  unauthorisedly  in  the  public 

examination; 

(vi) tampering with answer sheets including Optical Mark Recognition response sheets; 

(vii) altering the assessment except to correct a bona fide error without any authority; 

(viii) willful violation of norms or standards set up by the Central Government for conduct of 

a public examination on its own or through its agency; 

(ix)  tampering  with  any  document  necessary  for  short-listing  of  candidates  or  finalising  the 

merit or rank of a candidate in a public examination; 

(x) deliberate violation of security measures to facilitate unfair means in conduct of a public 

examination;  

(xi) tampering with the computer network or a computer resource or a computer system; 

(xii) manipulation in seating arrangements, allocation of dates and shifts for the candidates to 

facilitate adopting unfair means in examinations; 

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(xiii) threatening the life, liberty or wrongfully restraining persons associated with the public 
examination  authority  or  the  service  provider  or  any  authorised  agency  of  the  Government;  or 
obstructing the conduct of a public examination; 

(xiv) creation of fake website to cheat or for monetary gain; and 

(xv) conduct of fake examination, issuance of fake admit cards or offer letters to cheat or for 

monetary gain. 

4. Conspiracy for unfair means.—No person or group of persons or institutions shall collude or 

conspire to facilitate indulgence in any such unfair means. 

5. Disruption to conduct public examination.—(1) No person, who is not entrusted or engaged 
with the work pertaining to the public examination or conduct of public examination or who is not a 
candidate, shall enter the premises of the examination centre, with intent to disrupt the conduct of the 
public examination. 

 (2)  No  person  authorised,  engaged  or  entrusted  with  the  duties  to  conduct  public  examination 

shall, before the time fixed for opening and distribution of question papers–– 

(a) open, leak or possess or access or solve or seek assistance to solve such question paper or any 

portion or a copy thereof in unauthorised manner for monetary or wrongful gain; 

 (b)  give  any  confidential  information  or  promise  to  give  such  confidential  information  to  any 
person,  where  such  confidential  information  is  related  to  or  in  reference  to  such  question  paper  for 
monetary or wrongful gain. 

(3) No person, who is entrusted or engaged with any work pertaining to public examination shall, 
except where he is authorised in furtherance of his duties so to do, reveal or cause to be revealed or 
make known to any other person any information or part thereof which has come to his knowledge for 
any undue advantage or wrongful gain. 

6. Other offences.—If any person or group of persons or institution  commits any unfair means or 
offence under sections 3, 4 and section 5, the service provider shall forthwith report the offence to the 
concerned police authorities and also inform the public examination authority: 

Provided  that  if  the  service  provider  resorts  to  unfair  means  and  commits  the  offence  or  is 
involved  in  facilitating  an  offence,  the  public  examination  authority  shall  report  the  same  to  the 
concerned police authorities. 

7. No premises other than examination centre shall be used for public examination.—It shall 
be an offence for the service provider or any person associated with the service provider to cause any 
premises,  other  than  the  examination  centre,  authorised  by  the  public  examination  authority,  to  be 
alternatively used for the purpose of holding public examination, without the written approval of the 
public examination authority: 

Provided  that  nothing  contained  in  this  section  shall  be  an  offence  where  any  change  in  the 
examination  centre  without  prior  consent  of  the  public  examination  authority  is  due  to  any  force 
majeure. 

8. Offences in respect of service providers and other persons.—(1) Any person, including the 
person  associated  with  a  service  provider,  shall  be  deemed  to  have  committed  an  offence  if  he 
individually  or  in  collusion  with  any  other  person  or  group  of  persons  or  institutions  assists  any 
person  or  group  of  persons  or  institutions  in  any  manner  unauthorisedly  in  the  conduct  of  public 
examination. 

(2)  Service  provider  or  any  person  associated  with  it  shall  be  deemed  to  have  committed  an 

offence if he fails to report incidence of any unfair means or commission of any offence. 

(3)    Where  an  offence  committed  by  a  service  provider  is,  prima  facie,  established  during 
investigation  to  have  been  committed  with  the  consent  or  connivance  of  any  director,  manager, 

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secretary  or  other  officer  of  such  service  provider,  such  person shall also  be liable to  be proceeded 
against: 

Provided  that  nothing  contained  in  this  sub-section  shall  render  any  such  person  liable  to  any 
punishment under the Act, if he proves, that the offence was committed without his knowledge and 
that he exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such offence. 

CHAPTER III 

PUNISHMENT FOR OFFENCES 

9.    Cognizable  offences.—All  offences  under  this  Act,  shall  be  cognizable,  non-bailable  and  

non-compoundable. 

10.  Punishment  for  offences  under  this  Act.—(1)  Any  person  or  persons  resorting  to  unfair 
means and offences under this Act, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not less than three 
years but which may extend  to  five years  and with fine up to ten lakh rupees. In case of default of 
payment of fine, an additional punishment of imprisonment shall be imposed, as per the provisions of 
the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023): 

Provided that until the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023) is brought into force, the 

provisions of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860), shall be applicable in place of the said Act. 

(2)  The  service  provider  shall  also  be  liable  to  be  punished  with  imposition  of  a  fine  upto  one 
crore rupees and  proportionate cost of examination shall also be recovered from such service provider 
and he shall also be barred from being assigned  with any responsibility  for the conduct of  any public 
examination  for a period of four years. 

(3)  Where  it  is  established  during  the  investigation  that  offence  under  this  Act  has  been 
committed  with  the  consent  or  connivance  of  any  Director,  Senior  Management  or  the  persons  in-
charge of the service provider firm, he shall be liable for imprisonment for a term not less than three 
years  but  which  may  extend  to  ten  years  and  with  fine  of  one  crore  rupees.  In  case  of  default  of 
payment of fine, an additional punishment of imprisonment shall be imposed as per the provisions of 
the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023): 

Provided  that  until  the  Bharatiya  Nyaya  Sanhita,  2023  (45  of  2023)  is  brought  into  force,  the 

provisions of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860), shall be applicable in place of the said Act. 

(4) Nothing contained in this section shall render any such person liable to any punishment under 
the Act, if he proves, that the offence was committed without his knowledge and that he exercised all 
due diligence to prevent the commission of such offence. 

11. Organised crimes.—(1) If a person or a group of persons including the examination authority 
or  service  provider  or  any  other  institution  commits  an  organised  crime,  he  shall  be  punished  with 
imprisonment  for  a  term  not  less  than  five  years  but  which  may  extend  to  ten  years  and  with  fine 
which  shall  not  be  less  than  one  crore  rupees.  In  case  of  default  of  payment  of  fine,  an  additional 
punishment of imprisonment shall be imposed as per the provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 
2023 (45 of 2023): 

Provided that until the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023) is brought into force, the provisions 

of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860), shall be applicable in place of the said Act. 

(2) If an institution is involved in committing an organised crime, its property shall be subjected 

to attachment and forfeiture and proportionate cost of examination shall also be recovered from it. 

CHAPTER IV 

INQUIRY AND INVESTIGATION 

12.  Officers  empowered  to  investigate.—(1)  An  officer  not  below  the  rank  of  Deputy 
Superintendent of Police or Assistant Commissioner of Police shall investigate any offence under this 
Act.  

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(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), the Central Government shall have the  

powers to refer the investigation to any Central Investigating Agency. 

CHAPTER V 

MISCELLANEOUS 

13.  Members,  officers  and  employees  of  public  examination  authority  to  be  public 
servants.—The  Chairperson,  Members,  officers  and  other  employees  of  the  public  examination 
authority shall be deemed, when acting or purporting to act in pursuance of any of the provisions of 
this Act, to be public servants within the meaning of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023): 

Provided  that  until  the  Bharatiya  Nyaya  Sanhita,  2023  (45  of  2023)  is  brought  into  force,  the 

provisions of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860), shall be applicable in place of the said Act. 

14. Protection of  action  taken  in  good faith  by  any  public servant.—No suit, prosecution or 
other  legal  proceedings  under  this  Act,  shall  lie  against  any  public  servant,  in  respect  of  anything 
which  is  done  in  good  faith  or  intended  to  be  done  in  the  discharge  of  his  official  functions  or  in 
exercise of his powers: 

Provided  that  the  public  servants  in  the  service  of  any  public  examination  authority  shall  be 

subject to administrative action in terms of service rules of such public examination authority:  

Provided further that nothing shall prevent proceeding against such public servants where, prima 

facie case exists for establishing commission of an offence under this Act. 

15. Provisions of this Act  to be in addition to other laws.—The provisions of this Act shall be 

in addition to, and not in derogation of, any other law for the time being in force: 

Provided  that  the  provisions  of  this  Act  shall  have  effect  notwithstanding  anything  inconsistent 
therewith contained in any other law for the time being in force or any instrument having effect by 
virtue of any such law in force. 

16.  Power  to  make  rules.—(1)  The  Central  Government  may,  by  notification  in  the  Official 

Gazette, make rules to carry out the provisions of this Act. 

(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may 

provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:–– 

(a)    to  lay  down  procedures,  processes  and  activities  for  being  adopted  for  conduct  of  the   

public examination; 

(b) any other matter which is to be or may be prescribed. 

17. Laying of rules.—Every rule made under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is 
made, before each House of Parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which 
may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of 
the session, immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree 
in making any modification in the rule, or both Houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule 
shall,  thereafter  have  effect  only  in  such  modified  form  or  be  of  no  effect,  as  the  case  may  be;  so, 
however,  that  any  such  modification  or  annulment  shall  be  without  prejudice  to  the  validity  of 
anything previously done under that rule. 

18. Power to remove difficulties.—(1) If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of 
this  Act,  the  Central  Government  may,  by  order,  published  in  the  Official  Gazette,  make  such 
provisions  within  three  years,  not  inconsistent  with  the  provisions  of  this  Act,  as  appear  to  it  to  be 
necessary for removal of difficulty. 

(2) Every order made under this section shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before 

each House of Parliament. 

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CHAPTER VI 

AMENDMENT TO THE CRIMINAL LAW (AMENDMENT) ORDINANCE, 1944 

19.  Amendment  of  Ordinance  38  of  1944.—In  the  Criminal  Law  (Amendment)  Ordinance, 
1944, in the Schedule, after serial number 5 and entries relating thereto, the following serial number 
and entries shall be inserted, namely:–– 

"6. An offence punishable under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 

2024.". 

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THE SCHEDULE 

[See section 2(k)] 

ANY EXAMINATION CONDUCTED BY— 

1.  Union Public Service Commission. 
2.  Staff Selection Commission. 
3.  Railway Recruitment Boards. 
4.  Institute of Banking Personnel Selection. 
5.  Ministries or Departments of the Central Government and their attached and subordinate 

offices for recruitment of staff. 

6.  National Testing Agency. 
7.     Such other authority as may be notified by the Central Government. 

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